Tamashi
by ff9moonie
Summary: Souls travel from one plane to another. One life to another. It is said that no soul is born evil or good. They are transformed, shaped as one lives on. Some souls never have a chance to choose.


Tamashi

Chapter One:

The Shooting Stars

* * *

"Everything is connected, like a delicate web. Ever growing, ever changing. New silvery strands come together every day, and once the strand is formed, no matter what superficial circumstances may sometimes keep you apart, it is never broken. You will meet again, perhaps in another lifetime. The connection is unbreakable, lying dormant in your subconscious."

- Chelsie Shakespeare

* * *

Nephrite lay, encased in Naru's arms, dying. Her tears gushed down her cheeks as her mouth opened and closed, whimpers escaping each time instead of words. He reached out, pushing the pain pounding against his straining muscles away, to wipe her tears. As his hand brushed away the tears Naru tightly shut her eyes, savoring his delicate touch, imprinting it into her memory. The late hour of the night, the Senshi standing nearby, the unnaturally green blood gushing from Nephrite's wounds were forgotten. It was but a moment she knew would forever remain in her heart.

"Sanjoin-sama," she whispered as she broke her reverie and opened her eyes.

He smiled, warmly (the first genuine smile he gave her), the site filling Naru with happiness and a slight reprieve from the churning pain in her heart. Another moment.

"Gomen nasai, "Nephrite said. He dropped his hand, pain overcoming his weak body.

Naru rested her hand atop his, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"I have to break my promise," he erupted into a fit of coughs, blood slipping from the corner of his mouth. "We won't get to eat chocolate parfaits together."

She would give anything to have that moment with Masato and when she caught the sight of a shooting star, she wished she could. At the back of her mind, she knew it was impossible and her childish hope faded away as soon as she realized Masato's body was fading. She clutched his body within her arms whispering her refusal to let him go.

The Stars were falling as though they were reaching out to Masato's body to keep him from disappearing altogether. Their shine averted Nephrite's gaze to the night sky. They gleamed like the sun, filling him with energy unlike he'd known before. He'd felt it, slightly, at times with Naru, especially of late. But this was different and a whole new world was opening.

"The Stars. Look." His fading hand pointed upward. He heard the Senshi's and Naru's gasp. The falling Stars were different than shooting Stars. It's wasn't just their shine or gleam or the energy they gave to Nephrite that differed them. They wove together into a dance, relaying image after image solely for him. He distantly heard someone utter beautiful, before his senses zeroed in on the Stars completely. He'd never heard them so clearly. Their desperate voices crying, vying for his attention.

"Nephrite-sama! Nephrite-sama! Nephrite-sama!"

His heart ached. The pain from his wounds in no way rivaled the piercing raw emotion he could feel within his heart, smell the Stars' cries at being heard, see the way the light flowed and ebbed like a wave washing away his sins. He didn't want to leave them. Wanted to listen to their every word forever. But time was running short and they warned him. His body was almost gone.

"The Fire Seer." They chimed. "Seek the Fire Seer."

Nephrite withdrew from them, understanding their urgency. He cried out as the Stars' warmth and gleam were no longer clouding his senses. He was ready to turn back to them, but having waited for him for centuries, they whispered into his ear once more to seek the Fire Seer.

.He knew she wouldn't understand his words completely (he didn't understand them himself), but still he turned to Naru first. "Arigato. For freeing me."

As soon as the words left his mouth he didn't linger for a response from her, instead, choosing to turn to the Senshi.

"The Stars. Comet shall meet with Fire. They will reveal Black God to you."

His time was draining and there was more to explain. He could tell by the Senshi's faces they were unsure of what he spoke about. They were unfamiliar with his Gods. Only his Oak (he was unsure who this was or why he thought this) would understand, but the Stars had warned him she was not yet found even among their Sight.

"Please!" He opened his mouth to say more, but the Stars' hold anchoring him waned and he faded.

Nephrite's desperate eyes were the last message the Senshi received and Naru's cries invaded the still night as she clutched the fabric once wrapped around his arm. The Senshi stood by, waiting for the right time to bring Naru home as well as to cease their own tears. Nephrite's message brushed to the back of their minds as they mourned his loss and Naru's lost love.

Yet there was joy. The falling Stars ceased their movement and glittered with elation. Shooting Stars filled the night and the Stars were happy, wishing for a rebirth for their dark enemies.

* * *

The day seemed brighter, hotter even, and Rei, who was sweeping the temple grounds, had already changed out of her robes in favor of ones without the pungent smell and stain of sweat. A change of clothes didn't protect her from the heat. Once again she wiped the sweat beading on her forehead with the back of her hand. Her face contorted as she felt trails of sweat running down her back. There were only a few visitors at the temple and they left just as swiftly as they came.

Rei worried, _I hope Grandpa will feel better once the day cools down._

She continued to sweep the grounds and considered abandoning the task altogether when she realized she was due for another change of robes. She set the broom against the wall and headed inside. Opting to check on her grandfather, Rei made sure to fill a bowl with fresh cold water before heading to his room. She pushed the screen aside, sat next to her grandfather and dipped the cloth into the cool water before replacing it on her grandfather's forehead. The cool contact awoke him.

"Risa," he whispered as he opened his eyes, dazed.

It wasn't often Rei was mistaken for her mother as the resemblance between the two was strong. But the unexpected heat wave passing through Tokyo combined with her grandfather's growing age displaced time for her grandfather. Rei feared the day would soon come when he would leave the world behind. Leave her behind.

"Ie. It's me, Rei,." she said as she lightly placed her hand on his.

He blinked twice to clear his head, replacing his confused expression with one of guilt. His tired, sad eyes conveyed his apology at mistaking his granddaughter for his passed daughter. Rei smiled, kissed his forehead, accepting the unspoken apology.

"Rei-chan!"

Usagi's bellow broke the quiet surround the shrine. Rei heard Phobos and Deimos cawing at Usagi's and, no doubt, Ami's arrival. She spoke to her grandfather once more, telling him to get some rest, as she dipped the cloth into the water once more and placed it on his forehead. She squeezed his hand as Usagi called out for her again. Instead of changing out of her robes she greeted her friends, still clad in their uniforms, and led them to her room.

Usagi lay sprawled out on the ground, fanning herself with one hand while Rei and Ami kept their feet tucked beneath them. They sat in silence collecting their thoughts. It was Rei who spoke first.

"How is she, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi placed her chin in both hands. Eyes half closed, she sighed. "Naru-chan came to school today. She seemed herself." She sat up, shoulders slumped forward and head downcast, before continuing. "But I know her. She's heartbroken."

"Umino-san," Ami interjected in order to placate Usagi, "seemed to cheer her up at lunch though."

Usagi lifted her head and after a few seconds she smiled and told the group Naru would be fine with time. Rei nodded in response and stood up. Robes still soiled with sweat, she brushed her hand through her hair and settled the other on her hip. Letting out a tired sigh, she went and retrieved water and commented on the heat as she offered a glass to both girls.

Ami stared into the glass while Usagi and Rei conversed. It was odd, she knew. The heat wave came suddenly. An anomaly. Her mind went through countless reasons explaining the phenomenon that seemed to occur overnight.

"That's it!" Ami summoned her Mercury Computer to her hand all the while ignoring Rei and Usagi's questions. A couple minutes went by before she looked up to her comrades and said, "It's time we began our meeting."

They looked at each other, nodded once. Ami pressed some buttons on her computer to emit a hologram of the night sky from the previous battle. They watched, entranced again by the brilliance the stars emitted. They didn't see the dance that Nephrite witnessed or hear the commanding whispers. It was a beautiful sight nonetheless.

Ami pressed two more buttons, emitting another hologram of the sky presently and the third displaying the stars activity from the previous night to the present. She said, "We can't see it now, because of the light the sun emits." She pointed out the heat fluctuations. "But the stars last night emitted an exorbitant amount of heat. If I dim the sun's rays, we can see how much heat the stars are letting out right now."

Rei commented, "It looks the same."

Ami nodded tapping away on her keyboard. "Precisely. The stars are the reason for the heat wave. Only, there's no scientific sense in that."

Usagi, head tilted to the side in contemplation, said, "Maybe it's because of Nephrite." Seeing their blank expressions, she crossed her arms and said, "He said to look at the stars. I think…," she faltered a moment. "I think they were talking to him."

"Ne, Usagi-chan, I think the heat may be getting to you." Rei said.

Usagi shook her head. "It's like how the fire talks to you. Remember? He said something about the fire. He was trying to tell us something."

"Usagi may be right," Ami said as she shut the holograms down and stored her computer away.

Without words they stood up to go to the Great Fire.

Nephrite's Black God would soon come.

Nineteen year-old Maska lay sleeping in a hospital bed in the city he grew up in. His warm, earth-colored hair, once short and cut above his ear, had grown several inches since he'd been admitted in the hospital several months prior. It would be a year soon since he'd entered into a coma. The steady beeps of the electrocardiograph were the only sounds in the room. Maska's hands twitched and his face contorted in pain, but quickly settled back to a blank expression.

The door opened and a nurse, doing her daily night rounds, walked in and clicked the light on. She replaced the bag of nutrients being injected into Maska's body before making her way to the thermostat. As she adjusted the temperature she said, "Looks like the night's not cooling down since this morning." She tapped the thermostat once when the desired temperature was reached and made her way to the door, switched off the light, and exited the room.

In the night sky the Stars continued to burn bright and Maska's body began to glow as their shine increased. They whispered to him, "Soon, Nephrite-sama."

Eyes still closed he reached up with both hands towards the Stars. Their brilliance faltered and his hands were struck with black volts and they dropped beside his body. Again, his face contorted in pain. They wouldn't give up easily after just reuniting with their master. The air humidified as the Stars strived to protect Maska. The thermostat displaying the room temperature went up several degrees. Maska smiled in his sleep.

* * *

I've been swimming with this idea for a week now. It's not my best writing, but the story is just beginning and you have no idea what twists I'm throwing into here. I hope you're as excited as I am for this story.

-ff9moonie


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